Ready or Not
by Avril Lambert
Summary: Jim is ready to start his junior year of high school with his friends Ariel, Jack and Rapunzel. When he catches the eye of the most popular boy in school, senior John Smith, Jim starts to develop confusing feelings. Meanwhile, Ariel is getting attention from the quarterback, Sinbad. She knows his bad boy reputation but can't help falling for him anyway.
1. Chapter 1

**JIM**

* * *

Ariel could have been popular. She was certainly pretty enough.

This is what I was thinking about as me and my best friends, Ariel, Rapunzel and Jack Frost, hung out at the beach on Labor Day. Ariel was wearing a turquoise bikini and had her bright red hair pulled up in a high ponytail. She had creamy white skin, despite her best efforts to tan, and big blue eyes. Every guy near us was checking Ariel out, but she didn't notice. She and Jack were splashing around in the water; laughing and completely oblivious to everyone else.

Ariel and I grew up together and are best friends. But it was only this past summer that I really noticed her as a woman. It would be inaccurate for me to say I had a crush on her, but it was like I was seeing her for the first time.

"How much longer do we have to stay here?" Rapunzel asked.

I looked over at her. Rapunzel had really fair skin dusted with freckles. She was sitting under a large umbrella applying sunscreen for the third time in the last hour. Rapunzel would be what most people call peppy. She had long blonde hair and always wore bright colors. Even now she was wearing a pink shimmery bikini top with cutoff shorts and sparkly nail polish.

"I don't know," I told her, leaning back on the blanket. I closed my eyes and soaked up the warmth from the sun. "I guess until whenever Jack and Ariel are ready to leave."

I didn't have to see Rapunzel to know she just rolled her eyes. Rapunzel was actually one of the kindest people I knew and usually wasn't sarcastic, but she didn't like being on someone else's schedule. I didn't mind either way; I was just glad to not be stuck working at my mom's restaurant on my day off from school.

Jack and Ariel came back to the blanket then. Jack plopped down next to Rapunzel and shook out his wet hair like a dog. Rapunzel shrieked and giggled as the water sprayed her. Ariel sat down next to me, then reached over me to get a bottle of water out of the cooler. She smelled like coconut and her skin felt warm as it brushed against my bare chest.

"Hey, Ariel."

Ariel straightened up and we all looked up to see who had approached us. It was senior bad boy, Sinbad. His tan skin glistened in the sun and he was shirtless, showing off his muscular body.

"Hello, Sinbad," Ariel greeted him. "Enjoying the day off from school?"

Sinbad smiled at her. "I am now."

Ariel blushed and looked down. Sinbad sat down between Ariel and me, forcing me to move over.

"Anyway, Ariel, John is having a party tonight; do you wanna go with me?"

"She's already going with us," Rapunzel told him. "But, maybe she'll see you there."

Sinbad didn't even glance at Rapunzel. He leaned a little closer to Ariel. "I really hope so."

Sinbad hung around for a moment longer before getting up and walking away. Ariel smiled dreamily after him. Rapunzel ditched her umbrella to take Sinbad's spot next to Ariel.

"A senior just asked you out," Rapunzel gushed.

Ariel blushed again. "He's really cute."

"He's also a selfish jerk," Jack said.

"You don't know that," Rapunzel replied. "Maybe it's just an act. He could be like Patrick Verona in _10 Things I Hate About You_."

"Either way the party sounds totally lame," I said. "I'm not going."

"Jim, you have to go," Ariel pleaded.

"Not likely."

"Is anybody else hungry?" Jack asked.

Jack was always hungry. He only ever had two things on his mind: food and fun. But, I had to admit I was starting to get hungry, too. Rapunzel and Ariel agreed, so we packed up our stuff and walked across the parking lot to Rapunzel' car. Once we loaded up the car, we changed into our street clothes and started walking towards Burger Pointe- a small diner where all the kids at our school liked to hang out.

Lakeshore Drive was bustling with people. We lived in a popular college town that seemed to always be busy. Lakeshore Drive was where all the restaurants and shops were located. It came to a dead end into the parking lot for the beach, so most of the girls were walking around in their bikini tops and shorts.

Rapunzel rolled her eyes when she caught Jack checking out a college-aged girl wearing a mini skirt and tube top. Ariel had let it slip to me one day that Rapunzel had a crush on Jack. I hadn't believed it at first, but after Ariel had mentioned it, it seemed almost obvious.

Burger Pointe was crowded, but the four of us were able to get a table right away. After we ordered our food, Ariel turned her attention to me.

"You should really go to the party tonight, Jim."

"I thought we were off this subject."

Ariel shook her head. "No way. Not 'till you agree to go."

Ariel was sitting next to me, so I had to turn my body to face her. "What's the big deal? It's just a party."

"It'll be fun," Jack said.

"No thanks."

This went on until the waitress brought out our food. The subject was momentarily dropped as we started to eat, but it wasn't long until Ariel brought it up again. Even though Ariel chose not to hang out with the popular kids and never stuck her claim as popular, she was still very much a social butterfly and was always all-too-eager to go to any social gathering. She and Rapunzel started talking about who they heard was going to be at the party. Jack chimed in once in a while, but mostly focused on his food. I tuned them out until Ariel reached over and touched me.

Ariel gave me a small pout that most guys would have found sexy, but I thought it looked silly coming from someone as innocent and naive as Ariel.

"Please come, Jim," Ariel said. "If you don't have fun, you never have to go to another party with us."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

I sighed in defeat. "Fine. I'll go."

Ariel squealed in excitement. "You'll see, Jim; tonight will be better than you think."


	2. Chapter 2

**JIM**

* * *

John Smith's house was, for all intents and purposes, plain. It was a two-story gray house, with chipped paint in some places. However, it was right on the beach, making it the perfect place for a party. When my friends and I arrived, the party was already in full-swing. Judging from the music and noisy chatter, most of the people were out back on the beach. We walked around to the back of the house. There was a large bonfire burning on the beach halfway between the house and the water with several people circled around it. A couple of people were in the water, but everybody else was either dancing on the large back deck where a D.J. was set up or gathered in various places on the beach.

Jack and Rapunzel immediately took off towards the D.J., but Ariel stayed with me. She scanned the party, most likely looking for Sinbad.

"Do I look all right?" she asked.

I looked down at her. She was wearing a blue halter top that was designed to look like a mock-corset, denim cut-offs and a pair of brown cowboy boots. She left her hair down and it was blowing behind her, revealing her gold hoop earrings.

"You look great," I told her.

Ariel smiled at him. "Thank you. Do you think Sinbad will think so?"

"He'd have to be blind not to."

Ariel blushed. "You're sweet, Jim. I really like Sinbad and I want him to ask me out."

I reached out and grabbed Ariel's arm, stopping her before we could reach the crowd. "Listen to me Ariel; I know you've heard the rumors about Sinbad and you're choosing to ignore them because you think he's hot, but please be careful."

"Don't worry about me, Jimmy; I can take care of myself."

"I know you can. But I'd hate to see you get your heart broken by some jerk."

Ariel gave me another smile. "I'll take my chances with Sinbad. But, if you're right and he turns out to be a jerk, you have my permission to say, 'I told you so'."

I wrapped one arm around Ariel's shoulders and pulled her into a half hug. "I don't want to be right and you know I would never say that." I kissed the top of her head, once again catching her coconut scent, and we continued walking.

Ariel stayed with me while she looked for Sinbad, but after an hour she still didn't see him anywhere. "I don't think he's coming!" Ariel shouted, to be heard over the music.

I leaned closer to her. "I'm sure he's here. Let's go check the beach."

Ariel nodded and the two of us made our way down the wooden steps that led to the beach. The people on the beach had thinned out; most of them migrating towards the D.J. Still, there was no sign of Sinbad.

"I don't see him," Ariel said, not bothering to hide her disappointment.

"There's a lot of people here. He's probably looking for you and you keep missing each other," I told her, trying to make her feel better.

"Or maybe he stood me up." Ariel sighed as she sat down on a piece of driftwood in front of the bonfire.

I sat down next to her. "If he did, he's an idiot."

Ariel looked out at the water, the fire casting a soft glow on her face. "You always know what to say, Jimmy."

"Of course I do; I know you better than anyone."

Ariel arched her eyebrow at him. "Oh, you think so?"

I gave her a crooked smile. "I know so."

"All right... What number am I thinking of?"

"Sinbad."

"I said what _number_, Jimmy."

"But, you're not thinking of a number; you're thinking about Sinbad and whether or not he's going to show up."

Ariel tilted her head to the side and stared at me for a moment. But then she laughed and stuck her tongue out at me. "Fine. You were right."

"You made it!"

Ariel and I jumped at the sudden voice. We turned around to see Sinbad approaching us. I stole a glance at Ariel. Her face lit up when she saw Sinbad.

"So did you," Ariel said, trying to sound cool and indifferent.

Sinbad held his hand out to her. "Wanna dance?"

"Do you mind?" Ariel asked me.

"Of course he doesn't mind," Sinbad said, before I could say anything.

Ariel didn't take her eyes off me, waiting for me to reply. I nodded towards Sinbad, motioning that I didn't care. Ariel slipped her hand into Sinbad's and let him pull her to her feet and lead her away. I sighed as I stared into the fire. Everyone else had cleared away and I was now the only one sitting at the bonfire. Part of me wanted to be upset with Ariel for dragging me to the stupid party and then ditching me, but I knew the only reason she came was to spend time with Sinbad and I wasn't going to make her feel guilty about it.

Someone plopped down on the driftwood beside me. I looked up, startled. I was even more surprised to see it was John Smith. I didn't know John very well. John was friends with my older brother, Dimitri, so we've spent some time around each other, but we've never really talked.

"I don't usually see you at my parties, Hawkins," John said.

I could smell beer on John's breath, but he didn't appear to be drunk. "I've never been to one of your parties before," I replied. "Ariel dragged me here."

John thought for a moment as he tried to remember who Ariel was. "The redhead Sinbad is into?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

John chugged the rest of his beer, then threw the plastic cup into the fire. "Well, I'm glad you came."

I was slightly taken aback. "You are?"

John shrugged. "Sure. You're a cool kid. I always tell Dimitri to invite you to these things, but he says you're not interested."

"I'm not," I agreed. "Like I said; I came because Ariel dragged me here."

John turned to face me. "Lucky for me she did."

I cocked an eyebrow at him, but before I could say anything, John leaned forward and kissed me. I was stunned for a moment and couldn't move. What the hell was happening? When I was finally able to recompose myself, I pulled away from John.

"What the hell?" I demanded. I didn't give John a chance to react. I quickly got to my feet and stormed off.

I got halfway to the driveway when I remembered that Jack drove and I had no ride home. I didn't want to face John again, so I decided just to walk home and clear my head. I didn't know what to make of John's kiss. I was so confused and had so many questions. But, by the time I got home I had convinced myself that John was drunk and didn't realize what he was doing. Tomorrow we would return to school and it would be like nothing ever happened.


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey, everyone! First thank you for your reviews and messages about me starting up on this story again. The first two chapters are basically the same as the original story. But here's something new for you. Enjoy and please review to let me know what you think. Thank you! :)_

* * *

**ARIEL**

* * *

Sinbad and I danced most of the night. He was a surprisingly good dancer for someone with such a bad boy reputation; and it seemed I wasn't the only who noticed. Every girl within a five-foot radius of us had their attention on Sinbad and were beginning to creep closer to him. On instinct, I also moved closer to him. However, the toe of my boot hit someone else's foot and I ended falling against Sinbad. He quickly caught me and smiled down at me.

"Are you all right?" he shouted over the music.

"I'm fine," I replied.

"What?"

"I'm fine!" I shouted.

Sinbad leaned in closer. "Let's go down to the beach."

Not wanting to shout again, I nodded and let Sinbad lead me down to the beach. The bonfire was now completely deserted and I wondered where Jim was. I did a quick scan, but didn't seem him anywhere. _I hope he's okay, _I thought. I knew Jim didn't want to come in the first place and I felt kinda bad for ditching him earlier. I had fully intended on only spending a short amount of time with Sinbad and then returning to Jim, but Sinbad turned out to be more fun to hang out with than I thought and I lost track of time. Now I couldn't help feeling guilty, realizing that he may have just left and ended up having to walk home.

"This is better," Sinbad said as we came to a stop at the shoreline. "Much quieter." The water was calm and gently lapped at the sand, just beyond our feet. The sound of the small waves almost completely drowned out the music back on the deck. He turned to face me. "I'm glad you came."

"Really? I find that a little surprising," I told him.

"Why's that?"

"Well… Up until this afternoon, I didn't even know you knew who I was. We had never spoken before, I mean. Ya know, before today… You're a senior and I'm a junior and our paths don't really cross at school." I could feel myself starting to ramble and I quickly stopped talking.

Sinbad chuckled softly. "Believe me, Ariel; I've noticed you."

"Oh." I blushed and was super grateful that it was dark and Sinbad didn't see. Even though Jim says it's cute when I blush, I think it's really embarrassing. It's like your face is betraying you and telling everyone how incredibly awkward you are.

"You and I actually met last year. Don't you remember?"

I thought back to last year, but honestly didn't remember ever talking to Sinbad. "I'm sorry; I don't."

"Are you sure? We shared quite a moment together."

I scrunched up my nose. "Are _you _sure it was me?"

"Yeah. We had P.E. together and I never really noticed you before. But that last week of school everyone was required to play volleyball and I was put on the team opposing you."

"Oh no!" I groaned. It was all coming back to me. The volleyball game that Rapunzel now calls The Great Volleyball Incident. But, it really wasn't so great. I've always been good at volleyball, but my serves were definitely my strong suit. However, in this particular game, I got a little carried away and served the ball a lot harder than I intended to. It hit a boy on the other team right in the side of the head and knocked him to the ground. "Please don't tell me that was you."

Sinbad laughed. "That was me. You actually knocked out one of my back teeth."

"Oh, God," I muttered, covering my face with my hands. "I'm so sorry."

"Yup; I believe those are the exact same words you said then… over and over again."

"Well, yeah! It was so embarrassing!"

"_You _were embarrassed? I got my tooth knocked out by a volleyball that was served by a sophomore girl in my P.E. class. I was so embarrassed I told my parents it happened during football practice and threatened all of the witnesses to keep them quiet." Sinbad laughed at the memory and I couldn't help smiling, too. "But, as embarrassing as that was, I was impressed. I liked you the instant I really saw you. I wanted to ask you out and spent all summer hoping I'd run into you so I could."

Sinbad reached out to brush a strand of hair away from my face but I shied away. "I, uh, should get going. I have to, um… find my friends and… _leave_. It was nice hanging out with you. Maybe I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"You, too. Good night, Ariel."

I gave him a quick wave as I walked away. "Night." When I was far enough away, I groaned at myself and slapped my palm against my forehead. "Why are you such a spaz, Ariel? Could you _be _more awkward? Probably. Great; and now you're having a conversation with yourself out loud."

But, on the up side, Sinbad just admitted that he likes me. At least, he _did_ until I freaked out. I smiled to myself. Sinbad _actually_ likes me. Although, why he liked me I had no idea. He only noticed me because I hit him in the head with a volleyball and knocked his tooth out. I guess that's what it takes to get a boy's attention nowadays.

I made my way back to the party and searched for my friends. I eventually found Jack on the deck dancing with some girl wearing a dress so short that I- and every guy around me- could see the bottoms of her panties every time she raised her arms. Rapunzel wasn't too far away; she was standing a little ways away from everyone that was dancing and shooting daggers from her eyes at the girl Jack was dancing with. She and Jack weren't dating, but that didn't stop Rapunzel from getting jealous of other girls. I kept trying to get her to ask him out, but she would just roll her eyes and make up some excuse.

I walked over to Rapunzel. "Have you seen Jim?" I asked her.

She nodded. "He left a while ago and he didn't look happy."

"I was afraid of that."

"Ya know, if you really want to be with Jim you should stop inviting him to places and then ditching him for another guy."


	4. Chapter 4

**ARIEL**

* * *

The next morning I got up early, an hour before my alarm was set to go off, and decided to go for a run. I got out of bed, threw on my yoga pants and sports tankini and bounded downstairs. My dad was already up and drinking coffee in the kitchen.

"Morning, daddy!" I greeted, kissing him on the cheek.

"Good morning, Ariel. You're up early."

"Yeah…" I grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge. "I woke up before my alarm and decided not to waste the morning."

"That's my girl."

I smiled proudly at him. My dad was hands-down the best dad in the world. I know a lot of girls say that and I'm definitely biased, but my dad's just awesome. He always told me he loved me and was proud me, spent real time with me and was interested in my life without being overbearing. And no matter what I did or what happened, he was always there for me and completely understanding. When I was in middle school, he set up an actual volleyball net in our backyard. One afternoon Jim and I were playing and I served too hard. It went through his office window and smashed his computer monitor. When he found out all he said, "You have a killer serve, Ariel; but you need to work on your aim." That was it; I didn't get in trouble or anything. Coolest. Dad. Ever.

Looking back, it seemed I always had a dangerous serve. I should have learned from that accident and toned it down a bit; maybe then Sinbad would still have his tooth. But, then again, if I had never hit him, he never would have asked me out. Sorry, Sinbad; sometimes someone just has to take one for the team so Fate can work her magic.

"Where are you off to this morning?" my dad asked.

"For a run. I'll be back in time to get ready for school."

He nodded as he took a sip of his coffee. "I'll probably be gone when you get back, so give them hell today, sweetheart."

I winked at him. "You, too." I gave him one more kiss on the cheek, then put on my headphones and headed out the door.

The sun was just beginning to rise and it was a beautiful morning. I could tell it was going to be a great day. As soon as my feet hit the street, I started running. I used to hate running, which was especially obvious in P.E. when we had to run the mile for state testing. It got to the point, however, that I started getting sick of always having a terrible time on my mile, so last year I started running a mile a couple times a week to improve on my time. At first, it was a terrible experience. As I'm sure anyone who's ever had to run a mile for school knows. But, after a while it got better and I found myself enjoying it. And when I ran the mile last year and my time had improved significantly, I felt so proud of myself. And on top of everything, running gave me a chance to sort through me thoughts. Although, my thoughts always came back to one thing: Jim Hawkins.

Jim and I had been best friends literally our entire lives. Our parents lived across the street from each other and were good friends before we were even born. As fate would have it, our moms got pregnant within just a couple months of each other. After we were born, our moms set up play dates with each other all the time. We grew up together and have gone through life together. I know him better than he knows himself. So, I suppose, it was only a matter of time until I developed a crush on him.

The only problem was, no matter what I did it seemed like Jim didn't notice. I always wore my cutest outfits around him and even tried flirting with him a little; but I never got anything back from him. The only time he really noticed me as an actual female in the dating pool of life instead of just little Ariel was when I was getting attention from other guys- especially Sinbad.

My run came to an abrupt halt. Of course; that was it! If I flirted with Sinbad and really played things up in front of Jim, he'd had have to really start paying attention to me. Hopefully it would even make him a little jealous, the way Rapunzel was when Jack was around other girls. Though, it didn't really seem to be working out for them two of them, I was confident it would work on Jim.

When I finished my run, I took a quick shower and then focused on looking really cute today for Jim. If I wore a somewhat revealing top, Jim would have to at least notice my body and that was a start.

By the time I got to school, it was only a few minutes before the first warning bell. Evidently trying to look cute, while still looking like I hardly put any effort into my appearance, took longer than I thought. I hadn't heard from Jim all morning, but I was running late and couldn't really focus on that. I hurried across the parking lot, trying to get to my locker on time but, as soon as I made inside the school, I ran into Sinbad. He was alone and looking so good in his ripped jeans and tight t-shirt.

"Hey, Ariel."

I greeted the football player with a smile. "Good morning, Sinbad."

"It was awesome finally getting to hang out with you last night."

I blushed and quickly lowered my head, hoping my hair would hide my cheeks. "Yes it was. And I would love to hang out with you now, but I'm running late and I have to get going."

"I'll see you around, then."

"Defintely."


	5. Chapter 5

**JIM**

* * *

"I can't believe I over slept," Dimitri, groaned before taking another big gulp of coffee. "I'm barely into my senior year and I'm already gonna be late. This totally throws off my game plan, Jimbo. I can't have my teachers thinking I'm a slacker right off the bat. That comes later: after I've completely won them over and they like me too much to ever discipline me over being late or not turning in my homework. I have a perfectly good system that has gotten me all through high school and now it's potentially ruined." He finished off his coffee, then threw the travel mug over his shoulder, into the backseat.

He continued on his rant, but I was only half listening. After what happened at the party last night, I suddenly felt really uncomfortable around my brother. Did he know his best friend was gay? I wanted to ask him, but if he didn't I didn't want to out John. Plus, what if John wasn't actually into boys and was just really drunk and had no idea what he was doing?

I barely got any sleep last night thanks to all of the questions John evoked with that one kiss. The biggest question, though, was: how did I feel about the kiss?

"We made it!" Dimitri announced. He turned off the car and started to get out, but stopped and turned back to me. "As a head's up: I'm going to John's band practice after school, so you need to find another ride home."

I nodded. For some reason it sounded strange to me to hear Dimitri say John's name. It was almost like John was two different people now. I sighed and got out of the car. Dimitri was already sprinting across the parking lot, but I could hardly move. I stared up at the brick building, knowing somewhere inside was John Smith. As I made way towards it, I silently prayed I wouldn't see him.

When I got inside, I headed straight to Ariel's locker. I knew John most likely didn't want me telling anyone what happened, but I had to tell someone. I spotted Ariel heading upstairs towards her locker and I ran to catch up to her. I reached her just before she got to her locker.

"Oh! Hey, Jimmy," she greeted.

"Hey."

"Look, I'm really sorry about ditching you last night," Ariel said as she worked her combination lock. "I was just so excited about Sinbad wanting to hang out with me, ya know."

"It's fine. Really."

She smiled at me. "I had fun with him, though. Turns out _he _was the one I hit with the volleyball in P.E. last year. Oh, God, I was so mortified when he told me. And then I totally spazzed out and just left. I was all kinds of awkward last night."

"Speaking of all kinds of awkward, I need to tell you something about last night."

She gave me a sideways glance. "What is it?"

"Right after you left with Sinbad, John Smith joined me at the bon fire. He was drinking and told me he was glad I came and then…" I lowered my voice to a whisper. "Then he kissed me."

"He _kissed _you?" Ariel shrieked.

"Shh!" I hissed, looking around us to make sure no one in the school hallway heard her.

Ariel lowered her voice. "Sorry. It's just that... I don't know. How am I supposed to react to this? It's just so random."

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

"Well... What did you do?"

"I pulled away and left. I didn't know what else to do."

Ariel pulled one of her textooks out of her locker. It had a brown paper book cover over it with several various drawings of flowers and hearts in marker all over the cover. Ariel wasn't a very good artist, but she liked to doodle when she was bored. "Do you think he likes you?" she asked.

I shrugged and leaned against the lockers. "I don't know. He had been drinking... he probably doesn't even remember it happened."

Ariel stared awkwardly at her text book, running her finger over a lopsided heart she had drawn in green marker. "Do _you _like him?"

"I-"

"Ariel!" Rapunzel cried as she and Jack came up to us. "I saw you with Sinbad this morning! Looks like your little freak out last night didn't scare him away. I saw the way he looked at you in the hall." She winked at Ariel.

Ariel smiled at Rapunzel and blushed a little. "Yeah?"

"He totally likes you."

Ariel lit up. "You think so?"

"Definitely."

I sighed to myself, glad the subject was no longer on me and John. The fact was I had been up most of the night thinking about what the kiss meant and if I liked John. John and Dimitri had been friends for a long time, so John had always been around and if I was truly honest with myself I would admit that I was attracted to John. But I couldn't tell anyone; Dimitri would freak out and my dad would be pissed if he found out his son was gay. Besides, I really thought John was straight. I had thought about telling Ariel I'm gay, but I didn't know how she would react. I already couldn't stand the thought of my family disowning me, but I was sure losing Ariel as my best friend would be worse.

But, I couldn't help asking myself: what if not only had John actually _wanted _to kiss me last night and he knew exactly what he was doing, but I also wanted him to kiss me? I would be lying if I said I had never thought about it. It was hard not to. John was easily the best looking guy in school and he was also the nicest guy I had ever met. But, I never went beyond imagining what it would be like to kiss John. I've always been convinced he was straight, not to mention every single girl in school wanted to be with him. I thought I never stood a chance.


	6. Chapter 6

**JIM**

* * *

I could hardly concentrate in any of my classes. The day seemed to drag on forever. And even though John was a senior, I was a junior and we didn't have any classes together, I kept seeing him in the hallway all day; despite trying to avoid him. At lunch Ariel noticed I was distracted, but since Rapunzel and Jack were there as well, she didn't say anything.

When the last bell finally rang, I practically sprinted out of the classroom. I expected to see Ariel waiting for me at my locker so we could continue our talk from that morning, but thankfully she wasn't there.

My mind was still on John, so when I opened my locker I momentarily forgot what I needed. I forced myself to clear my mind, then grabbed my books and homework and shoved them into my backpack. I slammed my locker shut and turned to head down the hallway, but was surprised to see John standing there.

"Hey," I muttered.

"Jim, I think we need to talk."

"I have to go."

"Please? It'll only take a minute."

"Fine."

John cleared his throat and shifted his books from one hand to the other. "Um... I was out of line last night." He paused. "And I'm sorry."

"Don't mention it." I started to walk passed John, but he grabbed my arm and stopped me.

"You didn't, did you?" John asked. "Mention it, I mean. To your brother..."

"Of course not."

"Did you tell anyone?"

I hesitated, then replied, "I told Ariel."

John frowned. "I wish you hadn't."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Are you serious? You kiss me out of the blue- just assuming I'm gay- and you don't expect me to tell anyone about it?"

"I'm sorry, Jim. It's just that no one knows...about me. And I don't want it getting out," John explained.

"Ariel isn't going to tell anyone. And neither am I."

An awkward silence fell over us. Finally John said, "I'm sorry, again, about last night. I shouldn't have made that assumption about you and I shouldn't have made a move on you."

John waited for me to say something but, when I didn't, he just walked away. I let out a frustrated groan and made my way out of the school. I decided to walk home instead of getting a ride with Jack in order to get my thoughts under control.

As I walked down the street, though, I heard the faint clicking of heels on the concrete as someone ran after me. Even before she called out my name, I knew it was Ariel.

"Jim! Wait up!"

I stopped and turned to watch Ariel run towards me. She was wearing her favorite brown cowboy boots over skinny jeans and a white tank top. As she ran, her backpack slipped off her shoulder, bringing the strap of her tank top down with it. When she reached me, she quickly readjusted herself and tried to catch her breath.

"What's up?" I asked her.

"We didn't get to finish our conversation from this morning."

"I don't really want to talk about it."

Ariel nodded. "Fair enough." We walked in silence for a while, but she couldn't drop the subject. "It's so weird; I had no idea John was... ya know, into boys."

"Well, he doesn't want anyone to know; so don't tell anyone."

"You know I won't. Wait. Did you talk to him today about what happened?"

I kicked a pebble in front of me and watched it skid across the sidewalk and land in the grass. "Hardly."

"Oh. Well, either way, it's strange that he thought _you _are into boys."

"It must be the earring," I muttered sarcastically, wishing she would talk about something else.

Ariel let out an awkward laugh. "You have the wrong ear pierced for that, Jimmy. Not that that's really a sure fire way to tell if a boy is gay. Lots of guys wear earrings nowadays. Anyways, I just still can't believe John Smith is into _you."_

"You don't think I'm good enough for him?" I asked. My tone was mocking, but the question was serious.

Ariel giggled. "It's just that John Smith is, like, _the_ most popular guy in school. Almost every girl in school likes him. They'd be crushed if they found out he's playing for Team Adam Lambert." She paused to glance at me. "Who would have guessed that over all the girls in school he would go for the loner boy? His best friend's _brother_…"

I kept my eyes down. "Yeah." _Why _would _he choose me? _It was the question I had been asking myself since last night.

"So… what are you gonna do? About John, I mean."

"What is there _to _do? It was just a kiss."

Ariel blew her bangs out of her face. "I guess. But, what if it's more? What if he actually asks you out?"

I shook my head. "I don't think he's going to. Let's just… Forget it."

Ariel waved her hand dismissively. "Of course. I'm sorry. It's just, I don't know; this whole thing is just so crazy."

"Ariel, please!"

"Sorry."

We continued walking for a while and I did everything I could not to think about John. But, it was hard. Part of me had been desperately wanting to go back to school and talk to John some more. To figure all this out. But mostly I had a strange urge to come out to John. If he really was gay, then maybe I'd actually have someone to talk to, someone who would understand me. Someone I could be myself with and not have to hide.

"Hey, you wanna go to the boardwalk Friday night?" Ariel asked.

"Sure," I replied. "I'll call Jack later and see if he and Rapunzel want to go, too."

"Oh. I was actually thinking…"

I looked over at her. "Yeah?"

"Never mind. The four of us hanging out is…" Ariel cleared her throat. "It'll be fun. I look forward to it."

"So do I. I look forward to getting back to normal and forgetting about this whole thing with John."

Ariel studied me for a moment with her perfectly groomed eyebrow arched. "You know, I've been wondering: who would you've rather it been?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ya know, if you could have chosen anyone at school to be the one who just randomly kissed you, who would you have wanted it to be?" Ariel asked.

_John Smith._

"I don't know. I haven't given it much thought."


	7. Chapter 7

**ARIEL**

* * *

"Don't take it personally, Rapunzel," I said as she and I got in line for smoothies. It was finally Friday night and we were at the boardwalk waiting for Jim and Jack to join us. "It's not that I don't want to hang out with you and Jack, it's just that when I asked Jim-"

"You were asking him out on a date?" Rapunzel finished for me.

I nodded. "I mean, geez! What's a girl gotta do to get Jim Hawkins's attention?"

"Why don't you just tell him you like him?" Rapunzel asked.

We walked up to the counter. "A large Pina Colada smoothie and a large Pomegranate-Blueberry smoothie please," I ordered. After we paid, the boy behind the counter made our smoothies and I faced Rapunzel. "I _did _tell him- freshman year, remember? He didn't take it seriously."

Rapunzel made a face. "Oh right. Why do boys have to make things so complicated?" The boy gave us our smoothies and we continued our walk down the boardwalk. "I agree," she continued. "I mean, how many hints do we have to drop before they get it?"

I took a sip of my Pina Colada smoothie. "Honestly, Rapunzel, I don't think Jack will ever pick up on your hints. Sometimes he can be quite…"

"Clueless?"

"I was going to say 'oblivious', but same thing. I think you should just ask him out or tell him you like him."

Rapunzel fidgeted with her straw. "But what if he doesn't like me back? That would be so awkward and could ruin our friendship."

I pointed at Rapunzel with my cup. "Good point." I took another sip. "_But_ what if he's thinking the exact same thing and you're both just waiting for the other one to make the first move. And then the next thing you know we're at our ten year reunion and you're married to some super hot rich guy and Jack's all like, 'Oh, Rapunzel; I've loved you this whole time and I was scared to tell you and now I've lost you forever… Wait. Are they serving free food at this thing?'"

Rapunzel laughed. "I don't think that's going to happen, Ariel."

I shrugged. "It might. You never know what's in the future. We all know what we _want _to be there, but we don't know for sure until we get there. In the meantime, sometimes we just have to make things happen on our own."

"You make a valid point," Rapunzel told me. "When did you get so wise?"

I glanced down at my cup. "It must be the smoothie."

Rapunzel took a long drink of her smoothie while she contemplated what I told her. "So, if I _do _ask Jack out or tell him how I feel- how should I do it?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I guess just do it. When I had made up my mind that I was going to tell Jim I like him, I was a nervous wreck and seriously thought I wasn't gonna be able to do it. Turns out, it was easier than I thought. I totally psyched myself out beforehand, but once I started talking to Jim it was really easy."

"Okay, let's say I tell Jack I like him or I ask him out and he rejects me; then what?"

"Then you have your answer and you can move on. I mean, do you really want to spend all that time liking someone and never knowing if they actually like you back? I say, just put yourself out there and if you get rejected you just move on to the next hottie."

"You make is sound so easy."

"That's because it is."

Rapunzel scoffed. "For you, maybe; you're perfect. All guys want you."

It was then that I spotted Jim and Jack walking towards us. Jim and I made eye contact and my stomach dropped like I was going down a hill on a rollercoaster. He smiled at me and I could feel another stupid blush coming on.

"Not all of them, Rapunzel," I said.

"Hey, guys!" Jack greeted when they reached us.

"Sorry we're late," Jim said. "Jack wanted to stop and get something to eat on the way."

"It's no problem," Rapunzel told them. "We haven't been waiting long."

Right now I knew Rapunzel had some courage to ask Jack out built up after what I told her; but I also knew it wouldn't last. I had to find some way to get them alone long enough for her to do it.

"Hey! You guys want to go on the Ferris wheel?" I suggested.

"That sounds fun," Jack said.

The four of us headed to the Ferris wheel. I grabbed Rapunzel's hand and pulled her back away from the boys a little bit.

"This is it," I whispered to her. "I'll set it up so you and Jack ride together and when you guys are on the ride, you make your move."

Rapunzel nodded and we joined the boys in line. This would also work out perfectly for me to get a little alone time with Jim, as well. I had been thinking about this whole thing with John kissing him and I figured if Jim didn't freak out about that, then maybe he wouldn't mind if I randomly kissed him… say on a romantic Ferris wheel ride at night?

When it was our turn I asked Jim to ride with me and he went along with it. Once the ride got going, I snuck a peek down at Jack and Rapunzel, who were in the car below us. Jack was rocking the car and back and forth while Rapunzel was yelling at him. I resisted the urge to groan out loud. They were both so bad at this.

When our car neared the top, a big gust of wind came off the ocean and whipped around us. Our car rocked a little bit and I shivered. I was suddenly regretting my choice of wearing a tank top.

"Take this," Jim said, unzipping his hoodie. He slipped it off, then wrapped it around me.

For a moment he and I were close enough that I could feel his breath on me. My heart was thudding and I choked. He was right there and I was seriously reconsidering kissing him. _Do it, Ariel!_ I urged.

I tilted my head closer to Jim's and gingerly kissed his lips. But, he didn't kiss me back. He reached up and brushed his fingertips across my cheek, but pulled his head away.

"I'm sorry, Ariel."

"Don't be," I choked out. "I was just caught up in the moment. It's deliriously romantic up here."

"It is," Jim agreed.

I laughed awkwardly and mentally facepalmed myself. _Nice going, Ariel. _

The ride came to a stop and we got off. I quickly took off his sweatshirt and handed it back to him. "I'm not cold anymore," I muttered.

Jim took the hoodie and turned to talk to Jack and Rapunzel. I glared at his back. To my surprise I wasn't hurt, I was actually mad at Jim for not kissing me back. This was the second time he rejected me with absolutely no explanation at all. If he didn't like me like that, why not just _tell_ me? Why shrug it off and pretend like nothing happened? And why couldn't he see me as more than a friend? Did he really only think of me as his little sister? God! Why did our parents have to curse me like this?

Someone nudged me. Irritated, I turned to snap at whoever it was, but stopped myself when I saw it was Sinbad.

"How was the ride?" he asked.

I glanced at Jim, who now had his attention on Sinbad. "Cold," I replied. "I don't recommend it."

Sinbad nodded. "How have you been, Ariel? We haven't seen each other much since Monday."

I stepped closer to Sinbad and smiled up at him. If Jim wanted to pretend like nothing happened between us, fine. I can do that, too. "I've been good; just hoping I'd run into you again."

A crooked smile crossed his lips. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. You wanna hang out?"

Sinbad shrugged like it really didn't matter whether we did or not. "Sure."

Jim lightly squeezed my arm. "Ariel-"

"I'm gonna go hang out with Sinbad; you guys don't mind, right?" I asked Jack and Rapunzel, ignoring Jim.

"Of course not," Rapunzel replied. "Have fun."

I let Sinbad take my hand as we walked away. "I've been thinking about you all week," Sinbad admitted.

"You have?" Goosebumps crept up me arm; were they from what Sinbad said or was I still cold from the Ferris wheel ride?

Sinbad nodded. "I was also hoping we'd run into each other. You keep running off before we get a chance to really hang out."

"Well, we're hanging out now and as far as I know, I don't have anywhere to go."

"Not even back to Jim?"

I tilted my head up so I was facing him. "What do you mean?"

Sinbad stopped and twirled me around so I was facing him. "I saw you guys kiss on the Ferris wheel. Are you guys… together?"

I ran my hand through my hair. "No. That kiss was nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing."

"It was. Jim and I are just friends. We're more like brother and sister," I admitted flatly. I hoped the disappointment in the word 'sister' wasn't obvious. Stupid Jim.

"Good. 'Cause, I'm not gonna lie; I've been wanting to kiss you like that all summer." Sinbad's fingers swept over my cheek and moved my hair off my face. He slowly lowered his head down to mine and kissed me softly.

At first, my instinct was to pull away. I didn't really know him at all and I wasn't sure how comfortable I was with him kissing me so soon. Especially when we hadn't even gone on a real date. But I couldn't break it. Kissing Sinbad was nothing like I imagined. It was surprisingly tender and sent a small tremble through my body. I cautiously kissed him back, but found myself smiling and almost sighing out loud.

It was a brief moment. Before I knew it, Sinbad was pulling away and the kiss was over. "Was that okay?" he asked. "I just couldn't wait anymore."

Over Sinbad's shoulder I saw Jim watching us; a deep frown was on his face and I knew he disapproved of what just happened. Good. That's what you get, Jim Hawkins.

"It was perfect," I told Sinbad.

Sinbad smiled. "Come to my game tomorrow. I have to see you again."

I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek, with my eyes locked on Jim. "I'll be there."


	8. Chapter 8

**JIM**

* * *

I avoided John the rest of the week at school. Every once in a while we would make eye contact in the hallway, but I would quickly look away and start walking in the opposite direction. I liked John, but the last thing I wanted was to get involved in anything with another boy. When I was a freshman a senior boy had come out that he was gay and not only did he get ridiculed by the other students, but his coach kicked him off the baseball team and he lost his scholarship when the coach from his college found out. Even then I knew I was gay, but what happened to that one boy was enough to make me want to keep it a secret until I was out of school. I had come this far and I wasn't going to let John- or anyone- change things.

"Earth to Jimmy!"

It was Saturday afternoon and me and my friends were in Rapunzel's car on our way to the football game at school. Ariel and Jack were showing their school spirit by wearing the school colors- black and white. Jack was wearing a black t-shirt that had some band's logo on it in white. But Ariel went all-out. She was wearing ripped blue jeans over black tights with a white crop t-shirt over a black tank top. She had done her nails so they were alternating black and white; on each eye she had half black eyeshadow and half white. She wore a black choker and black and white hair extensions. Instead of her usual brown cowboy boots she was wearing black high heels. Rapunzel just wore a white sundress with a black headband. I had no school spirit, but wore a black t-shirt so I wouldn't have to listen to Ariel lecture me about it.

I looked away from the window and brought my attention to Ariel who was sitting front of me in the passenger seat. She had craned her neck to look at me and her white hair extension had fallen over her face. She was staring at me expectantly like she was waiting for me to say something.

"What?" I asked.

"He wasn't even paying attention," Jack said.

Ariel giggled. "It's okay. Jim, I asked if you want to go the party at John's after the game?"

"No!" I answered quickly. "I mean... didn't we just go to one of his parties?"

"Thank you!" Rapunzel said as she turned into the school parking lot. "He just had a party five days ago. How many parties does he need to have in one week?"

Ariel looked over at Rapunzel. "That was a Labor Day party and this is a football victory party. They're totally different."

"Different excuse, same party." Rapunzel parked the car and turned it off. The four of us got out and started walking towards the field.

Football games were always popular at our school since it was something free to do on a Saturday. Most of the students from school along with parents and kids were all making their way across the parking lot and filling up the bleachers. Ariel and Jack led me and Rapunzel through the crowd, each of them saying hi to the other kids in our class while Rapunzel and I kept to ourselves. When we finally reached the bleachers the team was warming up on the field.

The quarterback broke away from his team and ran towards the bleachers. Sinbad pulled off his helmet and met us at the waist-high fence that separated the field from the bleachers. Ariel leaned over the fence and waved at him. A couple freshman boys sitting in the front row couldn't help but check out the way her butt looked in her jeans. I glared at them and they instantly lowered their eyes.

"Hey, pretty girl," Sinbad greeted Ariel.

She blushed. "Hi, Sinbad."

"Glad you could make it. You look great."

"Thank you." Ariel was doing her best to hide the giddiness in her voice.

"You're just missing one thing." Sinbad reached down and grabbed the marker off the clipboard that was sitting on the bench in front of the fence. He then reached out and took Ariel's hand in his. She blushed again as he drew his jersey number, number 1, on the back of her hand. "There. If we win today I'll know it's because you're my good luck charm." He kissed her hand and then ran back out to the field.

Ariel practically swooned out loud while me and Jack rolled our eyes. I didn't know what her deal was lately. She was practically throwing herself at him; which became even more apparent with that kiss last night. What was she doing? First she was kissing me on the Ferris wheel and not even ten minutes later she was kissing Sinbad. This definitely wasn't normal Ariel behavior.

"He's so full of crap," Jack muttered as we found seats. "It's moves like that that has gotten him in bed with half the cheerleaders."

"You're just jealous," Rapunzel said.

"Does anyone want anything to eat?" I interrupted. I really didn't want to sit there while my friends discussed Sinbad. I didn't want to think about the guy who was hitting on my best friend hooking up with other girls.

"Yes!" Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out some money. "Whatever you guys want is on me." He handed the money to me. "Get me two hot dogs."

"Soft pretzel for me, please," Ariel said.

"Get me some nachos," Rapunzel told him.

I nodded and made my way down the bleachers. It took me a while to push through everybody to make it to the concession stand. The line was kind of long, but I didn't mind; it was better than hearing about Sinbad.

"Hi, Jim."

I turned around as John got in line behind me. Instantly I felt my heart drop and my stomach fill with butterflies. "Hey."

"I'm having a party tonight after the game," John told me.

"I know."

"Will you come?"

"Not likely." My tone was more bitter and sharp than I had intended, but I couldn't help it.

"Look, Jim, I said I was sorry about what I did. I wasn't thinking clearly." John ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath. "It's just that I've liked you for a while and when I saw an opportunity to make my move, I took it before I could wuss out again."

The line moved forward. "What do you mean?" I asked.

"For the last few months I've wanted to tell you that I like you, but every time I had the chance to do it, I freaked out and lost my nerve."

"Hey, Jim, I figured you would need help carrying the snacks." Ariel bounded up to us, but stopped short when she reached me and saw John. "Oh. Hi, John."

John shifted uncomfortably. "Hey, Ariel."

Ariel smiled up at him. "I'm looking forward to your party tonight."

"Thanks."

The three of us stood in an awkward silence until it was my turn. I ordered the snacks and then Ariel and I headed back to the bleachers.

"I almost forgot what happened with you two at the last party," Ariel said in a low voice. "If you don't want to go his party tonight, I completely understand."

I glanced back at John over my shoulder. "No, it's okay, Ariel. I think I'll go after all."


	9. Chapter 9

**JIM**

* * *

Rapunzel was right. John's party that night was just like his Labor Day party, except almost everyone was wearing black and white.

"It's probably good that you came," Ariel said as she and I watched Jack pull Rapunzel towards where everyone was dancing. "It'll give you a chance to talk to John and clear all this up." She smiled and waved as she passed someone who called out her name. "Ya know, tell him that you're not… ya know..."

"Right."

"There's Sinbad!" This time Ariel spotted Sinbad right away. He was standing next to the D.J., holding a plastic cup of beer while scrolling through the playlist. Ariel stopped walking, ran her hands through her hair and adjusted her clothes. She had insisted on stopping at home after the game to change instead of showing up in her school spirit outfit like everyone else had. Now she was wearing denim shorts, a purple midriff tank top and her brown cowboy boots. She still had Sinbad's jersey number drawn on the back of her hand, but it was now a little faded. "I'm gonna go talk to him," she told me. "You should go find John."

I nodded. Ariel continued on her way towards Sinbad. When Sinbad saw her, he smiled at her and motioned for her to come join him. It wasn't long until she, too, was going through the playlist with him. I didn't look for John, though. I had no idea what I was going to say to him. I had been thinking about it since I ran into him at the game, but I couldn't come up with anything. I almost changed my mind about coming, but I knew I had to deal with this so I could stop feeling awkward around John and not have to avoid him anymore.

Still, I couldn't summon of the courage to go look for John. Instead, I walked over to a quiet spot on the beach and looked out at the water as the sun set in the horizon. No one was swimming this time, but as soon as it started getting dark a bonfire was once again lit in the middle of the beach.

I sat by himself on the beach for a while until I saw John walk over to the bonfire with Dimitri. They were both drinking and laughing about something Dimitri was saying. I watched them for a minute, realizing once again how good-looking John really was; with his wavy blonde hair, intense blue eyes, flawless skin and perfect body. He was still wearing the outfit he had on at the game; blue jeans with a single rip over one thigh, a tight black t-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves pushed up halfway up his forearms. As always, the sight of John left me feeling a little breathless.

After a few minutes, John finished his beer, tossed the cup in the fire and walked away from everyone else, towards the water. I took a deep breath and made my way over to him. John didn't seem to notice me come up behind him.

I stepped beside him. "Hey."

John looked down at me. "Hey yourself. I wasn't expecting to see you here tonight."

"I know. I changed my mind about coming."

John gave me a half smile. "I'm glad."

"Well, we have some things we need to talk about."

John nodded. "I assume this is about what I said earlier at the game."

"Yeah."

"I know I've been presumptuous and out of line more times than should be forgiven this week, but I had to let you know how I feel or I'd regret it." John crossed his arms over his chest and turned to face me. "Clearly the feelings aren't mutual. So, I'm sorry. But, I had to try."

"You don't have to keep apologizing. I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?"

"No."

"It definitely seemed like you were."

"I was caught off guard. I didn't know how else to react." I paused to take a deep breath and summon up my courage. "But, mostly, I was confused."

"I know. No one knows I'm gay. I probably should have told you how I felt before just kissing you."

"Actually I was more confused about how you could have anyone at school, but you want me."

John was quiet for a moment before saying, "I guess it doesn't matter since you don't want me."

I knew this was my moment to speak up and tell John the truth, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

"I should get back to my party," John said finally.

"Of course."

I watched John walk away. I already regretted not saying anything to him. Before I could lose my nerve again, I ran after him and stopped him. I stood in front of him, staring into his expectant blue eyes.

"John, I..."

John looked down and I realized I was still holding onto his arm from when I stopped him. But, I didn't let go. John looked back up at me and arched an eyebrow, waiting for me to continue.

"I'm gay." The words sounded strange to me. Though I had known I was gay for quite a few years, I had never said it out loud; especially to another person.

John's face remained blank as he led me further away from the party. "What are you saying?" he asked.

"I've never said that to anyone before," I said quietly; still not believing I had just come out to someone for the first time.

John looked at me skeptically. "Look, Jim, if I pressured you into this or anything-"

"You didn't. I'm telling you this because I like you, too, John."

John let out a small, awkward laugh, but eyed me suspiciously. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. But, I don't want anyone to know."

"Maybe we should talk about this when we're alone," John suggested. "Why don't you come over tomorrow night?"

"All right." I turned to leave.

"Jim."

I glanced back.

John smiled at me. "I'm really happy you came tonight."


	10. Chapter 10

**ARIEL**

* * *

Jim barely talked to me all weekend and he was still acting like nothing happened. It was maddeningly frustrating. Then, last night, at the party he kept to himself the whole time and didn't say anything. Afterwards I wanted to ask him if he got to talk to John, but since we were with Rapunzel and Jack, I didn't think it would be a good idea to bring it up.

I finally got to talk to him this morning and convinced him to go to the boardwalk with me today- alone. I was really hoping to actually get to talk to him about everything today. Get it all out on the table and find out what's going on.

"You still with me?"

Rapunzel's voice broke into my thoughts and brought me back to the present. I had been staring out my bedroom window at Jim's house and must have spaced out. I turned my attention back to Rapunzel. She was standing in front of my vanity table, going through my makeup. She looked up at me through the mirror.

"I'm still with you," I replied.

"Good. So, what do you think…?"

I bit my lip. "About what?"

Rapunzel rolled her eyes and picked up a tube of my Wet n Wild Don't Blink Pink lipstick. She started applying it over her original, now faded, pink lipstick. "I'm thinking of asking Jack to go to the Homecoming dance."

"Rapunzel, that's still a few weeks away. Why wait so long?"

Rapunzel dropped the lipstick tube on my vanity table and turned to face me. "Should I take your approach, then? As soon as I get the opportunity, just randomly kiss him out of the blue?"

I blushed. "You saw that?"

"I think everyone saw that." Rapunzel walked over to my bed and sat down. "I'm guessing nothing came of it?"

"Not a thing! He pulled away and apologized, but that was it. He hasn't said anything about it since then."

"Maybe it's just weird for him. I mean, you're practically his sister."

"I know! That's the problem. I need him to see me differently."

"But why, Ariel? Don't you realize that dating could potentially ruin your friendship forever? Why risk it?" Rapunzel asked.

"Because I love him."

"Personally, I think you should just be happy with what you guys have and focus on that hot piece of man known as Sinbad."

I sighed. "He _is _hot, isn't he? And I think I'm starting to actually like him. But he just makes things even more confusing. I mean, how can Sinbad of all people- someone I've barely even spoken to- like me that much and my best friend just isn't interested?"

Rapunzel groaned out loud. "Come _on_, Ariel!"

"No. I'm serious, Rapunzel. Is there something wrong me? Maybe Jim sees it, but since Sinbad doesn't know me, he doesn't yet."

"There's nothing wrong with you."

"Then what the hell?" I cried out, flinging myself backwards onto the bed.

Rapunzel reached over and grabbed my pillow. Before I had a chance to react, she hit me in the face. "Move on, Ariel!"

"I can't," I groaned.

"Yes you can."

"Fine. I don't _want_ to. I effing love that stupid boy."

"Wow," Rapunzel said with indignation.

"You're one to talk. You're in the same boat with Jack."

"No I'm not. I've only known Jack for two years. Our friendship is nowhere near the magnitude of yours and Jim's."

I sighed. "I know."

"Speaking of Jim; isn't he picking you up soon?"

"Yeah."

"Is that what you're wearing?" Rapunzel asked, hesitantly.

I looked down at my outfit. After everything this weekend, I decided I didn't want to try too hard to look cute. So, I opted for faded jeans and a simple tie-dye baby doll tee. "Yeah. What's wrong with it?"

"It's just so casual; like you're gonna be doing yard work instead of spending the day with the boy you like."

"What difference does it make? Jim won't notice either way."

"I guess you're right." Rapunzel stood. "I'm gonna get going. Call me tonight and let me know how everything works out."

"I will. See ya, Rapunzel." I walked her out to the hallway, then closed my door behind her. It was then that I caught my reflection in the full-length mirror. I frowned. Rapunzel was right; this outfit wasn't going to work for today.

I went over to my closet and stared blankly at my clothes. Was Rapunzel right about everything? Should I forget about being with Jim and actually give Sinbad a real chance? Of course, even if I _should_, I didn't think I could. Forget about being with Jim, that is. All of the movies and books say this is how it happens. The girl starts dating Mr. Popular, but ends up with her best friend at the end; the one who was always there for her and knew everything about her. So, why wasn't Jim following the script? He's supposed to know he loves me before I realize I love him. This whole thing is so backwards. Why couldn't life, for once, be like a movie? I mean, those stories have to be based on some sort of real event, right? That kind of stuff has to happen to someone, somewhere. Why not me?

I sighed at how ridiculous I was being. I decided to change into my sleeveless brown top, skinny jeans and cowboy boots, then went downstairs to wait for Jim. As I walked passed my dad's office, I saw him sitting at his desk, working on the computer. I lightly knocked on the door. He looked up and motioned for me to come in.

"Hello, Ariel. What are you up to?"

"Getting ready to hang out with Jim."

"Where are you going?"

"The boardwalk."

He nodded. "That sounds fun."

I sat down in the large leather chair in front of his desk. "Daddy, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, dear. What is it?"

I tilted my head to the side. "Did you and mom fall for each other at the same time? Or did you have to… _convince_ her? Ya know, win her over?"

He leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment. "Actually, she had to convince _me_."

"Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah. She was a lot like you, Ariel; so outgoing and sure of everything. She was convinced Fate brought us together, but I thought more logically. She and I had absolutely nothing in common and I thought people with no similar interests could never make a relationship work."

"So, how did she eventually convince you you were meant to be together?"

"She just never gave up and asked me out on a date. I thought she was beautiful and it couldn't hurt to go on one date with her." My dad smiled at the memory. "One date was all it took."

I smiled. "Aw!"

He leaned forward and folded his hands on the desk. "Why do you ask?"

I shrugged. "No reason. Just curious."

My dad raised an eyebrow. "Ariel. You never ask me something because you're 'just curious'; you always have a reason behind it. Now, if I had to guess I'd say there's a boy you like."

"Well…" my voice went up a couple octaves, coming out high-pitched. "Maybe there _is_ a boy. But, it's not serious or anything. We haven't really gone out on any dates or anything, yet."

"Well, just remember, Ariel: things don't always work out. Everyone experiences heartbreak at some point."

I nodded in acknowledgement, but before I could say anything the doorbell rang out through the house. "That's Jim. I gotta go."

"Have fun. I'll see you tonight."

"Bye, daddy." I hurried out of the office and made my way to the front door.

The instant I opened it and saw Jim's face, I knew something was off. Though, what it was, I wasn't completely sure. Judging by the somewhat distant look in his eye, clearly something was stuck on his mind. But whether it was something good or bad, I couldn't tell.

"You ready?" he asked.

"Yeah. Definitely." I followed Jim out to his car.

We rode most of the way in silence. I seriously wanted to ask him what was on his mind, but it was my experience that Jim would tell me if he wanted to. I would just have to wait until he was ready.

"I'm glad we actually get to hang out alone," I told him. "It's been a while."

"Yeah it has." He glanced at me. "You're not gonna attack me again like you did on the Ferris wheel Friday night, are you?"

I gaped at him. "_Attacked_? That's not what happened."

"Are you sure? That's how I remember it…"

"I think I would know, Jim; I was there." I stuck my tongue out at him. He was so infuriating. First he acts like nothing happened and now he's making fun of me for it. Stupid boy. "Anyways," I continued. "It was nothing. I was just curious."

Jim eyed me dubiously. "Oh yeah? And was it everything you hoped it would be?"

"I wasn't _hoping _for anything. I told you: I was-"

"Just curious. Right."

I folded my arms over my chest. "Exactly."

Jim pulled into the parking lot and killed the engine, but didn't get out of the car. "Ariel…?"

"Yeah?"

"I, um…" Jim shook his head. "Never mind." He quickly got out of the car and slammed the door.

I jumped at the loud noise. "Okay..." I followed after him and ran to catch up with him. "Jim, is everything all right?"

"I'm fine." His tone was short.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Don't lie to me. If you don't want to talk about it, just say so; don't lie. I know you're not fine."

Jim turned on his heel and stopped abruptly in front of me; causing me to stumble slightly to avoid running into him. "Look, Ariel; I wanted to feel something when you kissed me. I just… didn't."

His direct honesty staggered me and I was speechless for a moment, but I recomposed myself. "It's okay, Jimmy. I told you it didn't mean anything." I smiled reassuringly at him, but it took all of my strength to do so and not show that what he said upset me. I really thought he and I were meant to be. But it seems I was right; there _was _something wrong with me. There's definitely something wrong when you kiss someone and they feel utterly nothing.

"I'm sorry, Ariel."

"You need to stop saying that. It's really not a big deal."

"It is to me."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't understand."

In a flash, Jim grabbed my head and pulled me into a kiss. My heart was racing, but the rest of me was frozen; and my eyes were stuck wide open. I thought maybe Jim would instantly pull away like he did Friday night, but he didn't. I was all kinds of confused, but since this was what I wanted, I didn't question it. I finally got my body to cooperate. I closed my eyes and kissed Jim back.

Jim's kiss was hard and demanding. It excited me in a way Sinbad's kiss could not have compared to. I could feel myself shaking slightly, but I didn't know what to do. The longer the kiss lasted, the more determined it became. I gripped Jim's shirt and got lost in the kiss that I had been waiting for for so long; even if it did feel like something was off.

I kept expecting Jim to end the kiss and back off like nothing happened. However, he just kept going. Eventually, I needed air and I carefully broke this kiss. Jim was breathing heavily and kept his hand around the back of my neck. He leaned his head forward and rested it against mine.

"Jim? What is going on?" I asked.

Jim straightened up and looked down at me. "Nothing," he said, flatly, turning away from me. "Forget that happened."

_Ha! Not likely. _"Sure."


	11. Chapter 11

**JIM**

* * *

"So, did you get a chance to talk to John last night?"

I flinched. It was later that evening and somehow Ariel and I managed to get through the day without it being awkward. I still couldn't believe I kissed her like that. But ever since I came out to John, I've been freaking out. I've been gay for so long, but actually saying it out loud to someone made it seem so much more real and scary. This was it; past the point of no return. But, I wasn't sure I wanted this to be my reality. I panicked. I thought maybe kissing Ariel would stir up some sort of feelings inside me that gave me hope of being normal. It didn't. Nothing happened. And now it was just a couple hours before I was supposed to go over to John's and face this whole thing head-on.

I had spent all day with Ariel and so far I had been able to avoid talking about John the whole time. I had been hoping Ariel wouldn't bring it up anymore, but evidently it had been a slow gossip week at school and John kissing me was the most interesting thing that had happened.

"Uh, yeah. We worked everything out and we're good," I replied. Part me wanted so badly to tell Ariel the truth- it was right on the tip of my tongue; but she was my best friend, practically my sister, and I couldn't bear it if she suddenly thought less of me and we drifted apart.

Ariel handed our tickets to the Ferris wheel operator and we climbed aboard. "Is it going to be awkward seeing him when he and Dimitri hang out?"

_Yes, _I thought. _But not for the reason you think. _"I don't know. Honestly, I think after this maybe John and I will become better friends."

Ariel smiled at me. "That would be nice. Just don't lead him on." She winked at me.

"Speaking of leading people on... What's going on between you and Sinbad?" I asked, grateful I was able change the subject.

"Oh." Ariel blushed. "Nothing yet."

"How come?"

"I don't know." As the Ferris Wheel started to move, the wind blew Ariel's hair in her face. She quickly brushed it away. "I guess I'm just hesitant. I don't want to rush into anything with him; given his... _reputation_."

"Why get into anything with him at all?"

"There's more to him than everyone thinks. He tries to hide it, but... I don't know. He lets it out a little bit when he's around me."

"You bring out the best in people," I told her.

Ariel blushed again and let out an embarrassed giggle. I couldn't help smiling at her; I thought it was cute when she blushed.

After the Ferris wheel ride, we headed back to my car and made our way to my house. Ariel talked about the recent update on Rapunzel's crush on Jack. Evidently, she was thinking of asking him to the Homecoming dance, though the dance was still about a month away.

"Personally, I don't know if she'll actually go through with it, though," Ariel was now saying.

"Why not?"

"Well, they've been friends for a while. If she likes him, but he doesn't like her, it could end up being really awkward between them."

"But, what if he likes her, too?" I asked.

"That could be even worse. Let's say they date each other but eventually break up- that would completely ruin their friendship." Ariel turned to look out the window. "Having a crush on a friend is risky."

I pulled into my driveway and the two of us got out of the car. When we went inside the house we were immediately met with the smell of dinner cooking. My mom heard us come in and walked out of the kitchen to greet us. Ariel immediately gave her a hug. When me and Ariel were very young, Ariel's mom died shortly before my dad left. So, growing up my mom had become like a mother to Ariel and Ariel's dad had become like a father to me. (Even though I saw my dad on a fairly regular basis, I still resented him for leaving and spent as little time with him as possible.) Our two families were very close.

"You two are just in time. Tiana will be done cooking dinner shortly," my mom told us.

My mom owned a small restaurant that she took over from her parents. Shortly after she took over, she hired a man named James to be the cook. The two of them became really good friends. Tiana was James's daughter and shared his passion for cooking. Sadly, James died just a few years ago fighting in the war. My mom still remained friends with James's wife, Eudora, and Tiana took over as the cook at the restaurant last year after she graduated high school.

On Sundays they closed up early and Eudora and Tiana came over for a big dinner at our house. Ariel and her father often joined us. It was the one night during the week when we had a family dinner, since usually my mom had to work during dinner. It always ended up being a full night of our three families hanging out together playing games, talking and just being a family. I looked forward to it every week.

But, somehow, I forgot about it last night when I set up the date with John.

"Dimitri's just setting the table now," my mom said. "Why don't you guys come join us?"

"We'll be there in a minute, mom," I replied quickly.

She nodded and headed to the dining room. I waited until she was out of sight and then pulled Ariel upstairs to my room. I closed the door behind us. When I turned to face her she saw was giving me a very confused look.

"Jim, what's going on?" she asked.

"I, um..." I really hadn't thought this through. I needed Ariel to cover for me so I could go to John's, but I hadn't come up with an explanation to give her.

"Well, out with it, Jimmy," Ariel said with a small laugh. "I can smell Tiana's Cajun shrimp from up here and it's making my stomach growl."

I didn't know what came over me, but I suddenly blurted out, "Ariel, I have something I need to tell you."

Ariel nodded. "Okay. What is it?"

I hesitated. "I've really wanted to tell you this for a while, but I didn't know how..." I paused and Ariel watched me, expectantly. "Ariel, I'm gay."

Ariel flung herself backwards onto my bed with a sigh. "Thank God!"

I stared at her in shock. "What?"

Ariel rolled over and propped herself up on her elbow. She rested her head in her hand and I could see she was blushing. "Jim, I've liked you for a while now. Like, since freshman year. I've tried so hard to get you to see me as more than a friend. I've even _kissed_ and flirted with you. But, you never seemed interested in me. I honestly was beginning to think something was wrong with me. I'm actually kinda relieved that the reason you're not into me is 'cause you're not into girls at all."

"I'm... sorry?" I didn't know what else to say. She hadn't reacted at all like I thought she would. I definitely wasn't expecting her to be _relieved_.

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I was scared of how you'd react." I ran my hand through my hair. "I didn't want to lose you as a friend."

Ariel sat up and patted the spot on the bed next to her. I sat down and Ariel hugged me. "You're never gonna lose me." She pulled away and studied me. "Although, I'm confused. Why did you kiss me like that today?"

"I don't know if I'm ready to talk about that."

"Fair enough."

"Anyway... I need you to do me a huge favor."

Ariel made an X over her heart. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thank you. But, I also need you to do something else for me." I took a deep breath. "I'm supposed to go over to John's tonight. I need you to cover for me."

Ariel let out a small squeal of excitement. "So, you like John after all!"

"Yes. But, we need a chance to talk things out- alone."

"Don't worry, Jimmy; I'll cover you."

It was easier to get out of the house that night than I had expected. During the chaos after dinner, I slipped out of the house and made my way to my car. However, once I was in the driver's seat, I lost all nerve. Was I really about to go to John Smith's house to talk about… What exactly were we going to go talk about? Me coming out? Our feelings for each other? A possible relationship?

Oh, God.

I suddenly became super nervous. My palms started to sweat a little and I wiped them on my jeans. Was I ready to be in a relationship with John? Or any guy for that matter? Would this mean I would have to come out to everyone?

"I'm in over my head," I muttered as I started the car.

I backed out of the driveway and forced myself to drive forward. I took the long way to John's house and drove around for a while to delay as much as possible, but eventually I had to man-up and face John. I slowly pulled into the driveway and got out of the car.

John's house looked a lot different when there wasn't a party in full-swing. It was quiet and with the exception of a light above the front door, the house was dark. My heart was pounding and my stomach was fluttering as I walked up to the front door. Before I could retreat, I made my hand reach out and ring the doorbell. After a minute or two, though, no one had answered the door. I thought maybe John wasn't home. Part of me was a little disappointed and part of me was relieved. I turned to leave, but just then the door opened.

"Jim?"

I turned around and nearly stumbled off the porch step when I saw John standing in the doorway shirtless. He was wearing only a pair of basketball shorts and his hair was hanging messily over his face. I recomposed myself and walked back up to the porch.

"It got late; I didn't think you'd come," John said.

I wondered how late it was. How long had I been driving around? Had I waken him up?

"I'm sorry," I finally said. "Did I wake you up? I can come back another time..."

John gave me an amused smile. "It's fine. Come in."

John stepped back and I went inside. There were no lights on inside and I could hardly see anything.

"I'm glad you made it," John said as he led me to the living room. He turned on a lamp and I blinked at the sudden brightness.

I looked around. The living room was, for the most part, bare. There was a couch, an arm chair, and a small entertainment system with a flat screen TV; but that was it. It was such a contrast to our own living room where the walls were covered in family pictures, mine and Dimitri's school photos and drawings from when he and I were kids. I didn't see a single photo anywhere in John's house.

"Have a seat," John offered.

I sat down on the couch and John straddled the armrest of the chair.

"Are your parents home?" I asked, not sure what else to say.

John shook his head. "Nah. They're rarely home. My dad travels a lot for work and my stepmom always goes with him."

"Doesn't she work?"

John chuckled. "No. She's more of a trophy wife. My dad makes enough money that she doesn't have to get a job."

I didn't say anything. My own mom had to work double shifts at the restaurant to support our family and there were months when she struggled. I couldn't imagine what it would be like to have one parent making that much money and actually living comfortably.

John cleared his throat. "Anyways… I'm sure you didn't come over here to talk about my parents."

I shook my head. My heart was still pounding against my chest and I was wondering how long it would take for it to reveal to John how nervous I was.

"I've been thinking about you a lot since last night," John said.

"You have?"

John laughed. "Of course. Why do you sound surprised?" I didn't say anything, so John continued. "I don't want to put any pressure on you or make you uncomfortable. I really like you and I would like to ask you out… but we can go slow, if you want."

"I… I don't know what I want," I admitted. "If we were to get into a relationship, would we have to go public and come out?"

John suddenly looked a little sad and thought for a moment, like this was a hard question to answer. "We wouldn't have to," he finally said. "Of course I would want to be seen with you and not have to keep you a secret; but, there would most likely be repercussions to coming out."

I bit my lip. "Maybe this isn't a good idea."

John looked disappointed. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Maybe we should start out as just friends? Ease into it?" Even as I was suggesting this, I realized that wasn't what I wanted.

John slowly nodded. "If that's what you want…"

"I don't know what I want. I'm so confused." I let out a frustrated sigh and leaned my head back against the couch.

"I'm not." I looked over at John. He got up and sat down next to me. "I know what I want," he said. "I want to be with you; I've wanted that for a while. If you're not ready to let everyone know about us, that's fine; we don't have to tell anyone. But, we can still be together." I hesitated, so John added, "You can take time to think about it. I'm not going anywhere."

I locked eyes with John. They were so blue and intense… I wondered what it would feel like to have those eyes be filled with love while looking at me. "I should go," I choked out.

We stood up and made our way to the front door. "Good night, Jim."

"Good night."

I walked back to my car without looking back at John. _What am I doing?_ I wanted to be with John- that was the whole reason I came out to him in the first place. So, why was I so scared now? I had the chance to be with John and no one would have to find out about me.

I opened my car door, but hesitated. _Why am I running away?_ I slammed the door shut and walked quickly back to the front door. I rang the doorbell and John answered within a few seconds.

I pushed John inside and he closed the door behind us. "I don't need time to think about it," I said, moving towards John, forcing him back against the door. He reached out and roughly pulled me towards him. I put my hand on the door to keep my balance.

"Are you sure?" John asked.

I replied by bringing my mouth to John's and kissing him deeply. It took every ounce of my strength not to lose control when I kissed him. My heart was racing so fast that I swore it would fly right out of my chest. I wanted to touch John. No... I _needed _to touch him. To put my hand on John's chest and feel his own heart beating beneath. But, I knew if I let myself touch him anywhere, I wouldn't be able to stop myself and I knew it was best to go slow. I couldn't let my hormones ruin everything before anything had a chance to even begin.

My body tensed and I dug my fingers into the door. My free hand dangled at my side and I had to curl it into a fist to refrain from reaching out to John.

But, kissing him was enough. John's lips fit with mine perfectly. He parted them slightly to take in air and I greedily claimed them again. I couldn't stop. At any moment this kiss could end and who knew what would happen then? What if he realized he doesn't want this after all? Would he have regrets? I leaned into him and desperately kept the kiss going as long as possible- in case I never got to taste John's lips again.

John's hand had remained cupped around my neck, holding my head close to his own; but now it slipped away and he gently broke the kiss. I held back the small groan of disappointment that threatened to escape from my throat. Instead, I took a step back and gave John some space.

I stared at him with a blank expression for a moment, then lowered my eyes. "I should go." John nodded and stepped back to open the door for me. "I..." I paused. What was I going to say? 'I need your mouth on mine again'? No. I didn't want to seem desperate. To avoid seeming too needy, I just said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

I left without another word. When I was alone in my car, I finally let myself breathe. Had I really just done that? Did I actually just make out with John Smith? My head was screaming _yes _and my mouth was pleading for more, but it felt surreal to me. Never in my wildest fantasies had I ever thought I would instigate a kiss with John in real life.

And I certainly never thought John would be the first boy I'd ever kiss.

But, it seemed John hadn't wanted it after all. Yes, he kissed me back; but he had been tense the whole time and just stood there. Maybe John was having second thoughts now...

This made me a little sad. But, I had to admit: I enjoyed the kiss while it lasted and definitely wouldn't mind kissing him again. _If _I ever got the chance to.


End file.
